Manufacturing in Motion: the Results

Posted By Sculpteo on Jun 7, 2012 | 0 comments

We told you a few weeks ago about a global survey on 3D printing communities. Results are now available and they show some interesting informations.

358 people participated, which is not bad for a first time. Participants come mostly from Europe and the US, use online 3D printing services like Sculpteo or are building DIY 3D printers.

Larger proportion of males in their thirties. Their interest for 3D printing is pretty recent, which makes sense compare to the history of accessibility of 3D printing (Sculpteo has been launched at the end of 2009).

Interestingly, 3D printing is mainly used for producing functional models and artistic items. Direct part production (final products) comes at the fifth place, after education and spare parts. This top 5 shows that 3D printing is not used as a prototyping technology only anymore. Mass customization and upcycling are definitively on the way.

It confirms what we believe in at Sculpteo. We are:

• working with cutting-edge designers (3D printing for art),
• developping our 3D Printing Cloud Engine for online retailers (3D printing for mass customization)
• launching new materials for final products like our ceramic (3D printing for final products).

The first reason why people love to use an online 3D printing service? Quality.

The survey also shows that we have three active competitors. We definitively want to jump to the first place soon as we keep listening to our customers, improving our service and launching new unique tools!

More stats related to the DIY side of the movement are available in the results. We invite you to read this very interesting study and get the raw open data for more meaningful insights on 3D printing!

Thanks to Jarkko Moilanen and his team for the work.